Stockholm
by Vetti
Summary: As far as his career path goes, Zero was just your run-of-the-mill lawyer in the city: still a fresh face in the industry with only one year of experience chalked up to his name. His life, however, takes a sharp turn when he accepts a peculiar case involving people who seem to be too influential to hire someone of his inexperienced caliber. [Night Class x Zero]
1. Chapter 1

I know I haven't finished the other story but the happy-ish themes just didn't suit my tastes right now lol.

Here's the original summary which I thought was too vague:

The innerworkings of the corrupt justice system had been carefully concealed for years. The same bleak pattern of unlitigated crimes and vigilante justice had been recurrent until a fluke is discovered by the general public, giving way to a new variable in the equation who can potentially alter the status quo and the lives of all those involved.

* * *

"There is a common fear for the unknown. It remains strong and prevalent especially in these trying times, but this fear remains constant and raw—subject to no means of eradication. We, however, have the capability of reshaping the odds into our favor—of remodeling this fear into something greater."

A lone figure stands amidst a dimly lit basement. The walls of the room paint a dark beige hue, averse to its natural cream color. A few tables and racks containing small vials and bottles of singled out and labeled liquids litter around the vicinity in proper order. The man in the middle of the room holds a vial at one hand, while the other is preoccupied with a pen as he observes for himself the test results.

The same modulated voice cuts through the small clinks and scratches of dull friction as it echoes through the lapse of the room, "I have resided in this city for the entirety of my life. I, with the thousand other life-long residents of this city, can call this place a _home:_ place that I believe to have a personal sense of obligation to nurture and support."

The speaker pauses for a moment, "I believe that this occurrence has primarily highlighted an inherent vulnerability we possess as normal people despite the hierarchical titles. However, we must turn away from the popular views, and pivot our attention to what is essential. Let these incidents pivot our attention to the rampant injustices in this city, especially those who have not been given the right attention and responsiveness it deserves."

The young man inside the room lets out a heavy breath after he is met with an unsatisfactory result. He tucks off a blond strand of hair with his pen before crossing out an item on a printed list laid down on a white marble table. He puts down the writing material on the flat surface and grabs two flasks from the side racks to put down on his working area.

"No one should have to live in fear," the figure ceases his motions when he hears the disembodied voice yet again, "not anymore. I will do everything in my power to assure that no one _will._ "

The powerful statement resonates in the small enclosed space. The light-haired man finds momentarily taken as he finds himself vacantly staring at an unadorned wall, until a phone ring disrupts his thoughts. He immediately takes hold of the remote control and mutes the television to attend to the call. He presses speaker mode and sets out a standard greeting, "This is Aidou speaking."

An orotund voice inquires, "Any luck?"

Aidou sighs and leans on his table, "I'll need two hours."

"Aren't you cocky?"

"No, I'm just good at my job."

The person at the other end laughs good-heartedly.

"What happened?" Aidou asks.

The cheerful tone from the other line slightly dies down to a modulated quality, "unforeseen events"

The light haired man laughs at the reasoning and presses on the matter further, "events or people?"

"A little bit of both."

"What's with Kaname being on the local news today?" the man uncaps one flask and pours a small amount of the fluid onto a clean beaker.

"Temporary distraction," the other person pauses and continues in a familiar optimistic tone, "Don't be distracted now. I'll keep in touch later."

"What do you mean don't—oh shit!"

Aidou's vision immediately traces to the overflowing substance in his glassware. The acidic solution was gradually spreading on the table as he immediately pulls the piece of paper and his phone from the furniture. He groans at the messy workspace and is about to shout at the terribly amused person on the other line, but he hears a familiar beeping sound and he's immediately disconnected from his friend.

"Damn you, Takuma"

* * *

Kaname walks down the pedestal after his announcement. His light-haired friend follows him as usual with a more defined twitch on his lips. Kaname doesn't press the matter as he walks towards the limousine. Cameras continue flashing, producing an almost blinding circumference, while reporters eagerly throw their questions as they press their microphones as near as they could to the dark-haired man.

Kaname walks into the vehicle unharmed with his light-haired companion following suit and rests his back on the comfortable seat before directing an inquisitive glance towards the smiling man in front of him, "What did you do now?"

Takuma laughs at the accusative tone and smiles even wider, "It's nothing really. I just had a quick chat with Aidou."

Kaname doesn't seem impressed with the answer, but he doesn't press any further. Nonetheless, he pivots the conversation towards another topic, "What's the status of Sara Shirabuki?"

"Well, I have good news and bad news."

"Spare me the discretion," Kaname props his chin on interlaced fingers.

Takuma nods and explains, "She's in a coma from a suspected cardiac arrest. The media company who is in charge of her case is beyond Shiki's control right now, so we'll have to be careful."

Kaname cuts the explanation with a hand gesture and asks, "Hiou?"

Takuma nods, "Kain has deleted all surveillances but the wrong people got involved and by some strange circumstantial ties I haven't traced yet, he's an alleged suspect of the crime."

"Where is he now?"

Takuma replies, "Detained. He might go into trial in a few more hours. We may need an attorney."

"Habeas Corpus?"

Takuma leans backward and crosses his arms, "Apparently, they have substantial despite mere circumstantial evidence, but all he would have to do is give the right answers to the right questions. I'll call Shiki in a few to manage the local database."

Kaname's expression appears to be slightly irritated from the news, "Good. Remind me to increase my people in the security office. Tell Shiki to find a lawyer, someone who we can use for the long term."

"What's wrong with your family lawyer?"

"One person can't know too much."

"Is that the code phrase for _I fired him._ "

Kaname clicks his tongue, "Just contact Shiki."

Takuma's phone rings. He doesn't even look at the caller ID when he tells Kaname in a saccharine tone, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear…or call."

* * *

Shiki sits calm at his seat inside a dark room illuminated only by the light of his laptop with the tinted windows blocking most forms of natural light and three layers of drawn thick curtains to further prohibit the sunlight from entering into his room. He taps his fingers onto the wooden table, listening closely to the vibrations of his smart phone flat on the surface.

The vibrations cease and he immediately puts up the phone to one ear. The person from the other line starts, "What did you find?"

Shiki leans back, his office chair producing a soft creak from the motion. He eyes the screen and replies, "My trackers turned up and local servers are updating with Kain listed as a potential suspect. In fact," a gentle scrape echoes within the relatively silent atmosphere as Shiki leans forward and scans the data while scrolling through and highlighting some information, "he's the primary suspect in the case with no provided alibi or any information provided."

"Alright, I'll need you to find other people who can temporarily shoulder the sentence if the arrest pushes through."

Shiki hummed, "I've already found two potential people we can tap onto."

Shiki can almost hear the smile from the other line. Takuma speaks, "Background check?"

"Well," Shiki minimized his primary program and opened a few sealed files to bring up onto his screen. Once opened, he continues, "Exhibit A is a recluse minimum wage earner who is found walking around the parking lot of the said warehouse a few minutes prior to the actual time that evidence was erased. Exhibit B is an unreported sex offender. He frequents the same warehouse area. He appears few minutes past the tampered time and five times within this week."

"Exhibit B. Forget the temporary part."

Shiki smirks at the comment, and he remarks, "Well, I guess you have a conscience after all."

Shiki starts opening the necessary files, momentarily forgetting that he still had his phone on his ear. He jumps slightly from his seat when the familiar light voice speaks yet again. He recovers immediately but still feels the goosebumps, "I need you to find me someone else as well."

Shiki recovers quickly, "Who?"

"An attorney; Kaname says we'll need one for long term. I'll call you again later. Aidou should get in touch with you right after this call."

Shiki puts the phone down and starts inputting codes onto the command prompt and locating local servers to tap into. His phone rings and this time, he plugs an earphone before accepting the call. A familiar strident voice starts his speech, "The crime scene is clear. The story's going to be your standard kidnapping for ransom gone wrong. Go crazy with the details you'll put on the file."

Shiki gives an affirmative hum.

Aidou speaks further, "I've figured out how to get rid of Shirabuki. It's pretty simple."

"Describe _simple._ "

"Right now, there's a compound entering her body through dextrose. All that needs to be done is to change that chemical into hydrofluoric acid. The substance will leave no traceable aftereffects. I can handle framing this for a natural death."

"What should I do?"

"I need a leeway: someone to conveniently disrupt security footage when I enter the hospital."

"We can't right now."

"What do you mean we can't right now? If we don't rid of Shirabuki soon, we'll have to deal with a fully aware and capable witness under the wrong journalism company! And, that would fall on all of us, but mostly Kaname; because he would have to shoulder everything should that happen—!"

Aidou draws a breath to continue, but Shiki takes this as a chance to cut Aidou's rant, "Kain is a primary suspect and detained. Contact me back when you've cooled your head."

Shiki ends the call and momentarily blocks the blonde man's number for a span of four hours as he continues his task at hand.

* * *

The light-tinted sky gradually morphs into a dark blue as Takuma finds himself back at his apartment after a long day making arrangements for Kaname. He opens the door to his home, and the first thing he picks up is his house phone ringing.

Already knowing who was on the other side of the line, Takuma presses the hands free option and walks off to the kitchen to get a wine glass.

"I've found a match for the lawyer you've requested earlier."

Takuma hums and pulls out a wine glass from his cabinet and fills the glass with water, "Do you ever wonder if there's something out there for us?"

"Don't get philosophical on me. Just tell me what to do."

Takuma frowns at the response but replies "Send him to Kain's within five hours."

The other line falls silent at the response but continues the conversation after the short pause, "What? No background checks this time?"

"It's a manageable task," Takuma takes a quick sip from his glass and his gaze gets drawn to a fluctuation from his peripherals: a sudden power outage from one of the small buildings in the vicinity, "are you tapping onto a building right now?"

"No, but one of my trackers is going off. What's up?"

The power goes back up a second later and Takuma shakes his head, "Nothing important. Anyways," Takuma walked away from the glass panels to set down his glass on the coffee table directly in front of the glass panels and adjacent to the pristine white loveseat, "What did you tell Aidou? He called me. He sounded mad."

"Kain"

Takuma smiles at the succinct response, "He figured how to deal with the technical stuff, right? Be less douche-y."

"I'm not a douche."

Takuma takes a seat back on the sofa and leans back on the soft surface, his arms stretching out on the wide dimensions of the furniture, "Alright. Just give me a name."

"Zero Kiryuu"

* * *

Sorry, it's a pilot chapter. Pilots are supposed to be short…right. Zero shows up next chapter lol.

Tell me what you think in a review and follow/favorite if you like what you saw. See you guys in the next installment. :D


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter should've been posted yesterday but I lost the usb where I put all my files for the story. Thankfully, I wasn't so dumb yesterday and I actually uploaded a draft of the chapter lol

* * *

Chapter 2: Intersection

* * *

"Who are you?"

The silverette inwardly cringes at the accusatory tone of the officer but keeps a mask of indifference as usual. He contemplates on a witty response to the irritated person on duty when he feels a hand grab his shoulder. He doesn't even look back to know who it was. The other person apologizes profusely and explains, "He's with me."

The officer lets the matter pass so Zero gets dragged off by a heavy grip on his arm by his companion. His acquaintance turns back to him while walking and he whispers in rough tone, "Don't ever sneak away from me."

Zero keeps a straight face but retorts, "Well, maybe if you weren't so easy to sneak away from, huh?"

The blonde man stops in front of the discussion room and turns back to berate the silverette even further. However, he easily gets caught off guard when finds Zero staring back at him with an indifferent and almost condescending gleam in his eyes. His grip unwittingly loosens on Zero's arm and the latter takes this as a chance to walk away from the blonde man yet again.

Zero grappled his arm free from the hold. From his peripherals, he could see Aidou's vacant stare and his mouth about to go off so the silverette holds a finger to the blonde man's lips as he leaned closer to whisper, "Shut up."

Zero walks off from the scene immediately and lets himself in the room, slamming the door on Aidou's face. He does a quick survey of his surroundings. Grey walls, a bright single light source in the middle of the room, a long table with six chairs tucked in. His eyes zero in to a lone figure sitting at the left-most chair. He receives the same untrustworthy gaze, to which he returns a knowing and well-rehearsed smile.

The man presses his hands on the table with the intention of pulling himself upwards to standing position, but he stops his action when a familiar face enters the room, "Hanabusa, what's going on?"

Aidou sighs, "Okay, just sit down. Zero, you sit down too. I'd rather not deal with you standing up."

"Do you always refer to acquaintances in a first name basis? How unprofessional"

Aidou grits his teeth and bites back a retort, holding his hand in a tight fist-like grip, "Take a seat, _Kiryu._ "

Zero shrugs and grabs a seat opposite to his client. Aidou walks to the chair right next to the silverette and takes his seat, "It's a long story but the cover up took longer than usual and…well," Aidou's gaze shifts to the unwavering attention of the silverette, "I'll tell you later."

Zero narrows his eyes at the insinuation and remarks, "No, please tell it now. I'm supposed to be your lawyer which means you shouldn't keep secrets from me."

Aidou protests against the statement, but Kain raises a hand to block his cousin's disapproving statements, "Do you know what you're getting into?"

Zero tilts his head and crosses his arms, "What do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. Tell me, do you _know what you're getting yourself into_?"

"You'll find out soon. One of you, go and give me a run-down."

Kain and Aidou looked at each other for a split second. The meaningful gaze didn't go unnoticed by Zero but the silverette chose not to address the matter. If his clients were gonna lie, then he'd work with the prevarications the two would give him until he's _worthy_ enough for the truth.

* * *

Today was an especially different afternoon in Takuma's apartment. Lounging at the loveseat in his living room was his childhood friend chatting with his sister through a phone call, while not too far away from his was a close friend as well who probably hadn't been out of his house for more than a week. The latter was immersed in a world of his own as his attention is fully directed at the computer screen.

Takuma stays put at one of the elevated seats on the table top counter in the kitchen. His body naturally pivoted towards the area where Kaname and Shiki were at, while his attention wholly focusing at the television and looking back at the two individuals in the living room every once in a while.

The news that day weren't particularly remarkable. Especially since most news-breaking stories would have probably been concealed before any untapped journalism company even thinks of getting their hands on any relevant information.

Takuma notices Kaname's attention directed to the television screen instead of his phone. Takuma immediately spikes up a conversation, knowing that the brunette would prefer a conversation than poor news, "Did you already review the file of the attorney?"

Kaname turns back to Takuma and puts back an arm at the side of the loveseat, "Not yet. Anything particularly remarkable you want to talk about?"

Shiki's attention pikes up at the conversation but doesn't try to get involved into the discussion as he continues his typing spree, half listening to the news and on Kaname and Takuma's conversation.

"It's not as _particularly remarkable_ as you had put it, but probably interesting."

This pikes up the interest of the other two occupants in the room as Shiki unwittingly turns to Takuma's side, while Kaname gives his friend an inquiring look.

"Well, it's just that—," Takuma cuts his sentence mid-thought when a familiar name rings through the filtered sound of the speakers. His attention immediately returns to the television to see the news headline: _Sara Shirabuki dies a natural death days after being involved in a suspected kidnapping for ransom._

The news reporter starts talking about the lineage of the girl after laying out the basic data on the death. Takuma's mouth seems to have been sown shut at the news headline. They didn't talk about executing plans this early. He looks at Shiki with a confused stare, almost communicating the message without verbal contact.

Kaname took it upon himself to break the silence, "Did you tamper with the evidence?"

Shiki shook his head.

* * *

"We'll let him go for now, but he will have a two month suspension for acting beyond his power."

Zero nods at the verdict and shakes the officer's hand before turning away and walking towards Kain who was silently observing the silverette's exchange with his colleague.

"I have good news and bad news. Bad first?"

Kain nods.

"Bad: you have a two month suspension from your post for acting beyond your power. Good: they let go of your case."

Zero offers a hand to the rustic haired man before offering a small practiced smile and walking out of the scene eventually. Kain follows the silverette's pathway out after gathering his things from his desk. On his way out, he sees Aidou sitting at one of the stools at the waiting area who immediately stands up to follow the other man.

Aidou walks in a gradual pace as compared to Kain's fast stride. The former says something that makes the taller man pause for a moment to look back at the light haired man in surprise, "So, what do you think of the new addition to our team?"

"New…who?" Kain's confusion eventually morphed into an unfathomable realization, "You mean the lawyer?"

Aidou nods.

"How? Does he _know_?"

Aidou shook his head at that, "He's going to be around whenever we have any discrepancies with the law," he pauses as he surveys his surroundings, "wait, let's go in the car first. I don't think it's safe to talk about this here."

Kain resumed his fast pace and immediately sealed his box inside the trunk of the car while Aidou went inside the driver's seat, Kain following soon after.

Aidou starts the conversation, "Kaname seems to have taken a liking to Zero after he mouthed him off when they first met."

Kain looked at Aidou as if to confirm that what he heard was true, and the latter returned the amused gaze and nodded in affirmation. Kain smiled a little. He could foresee the feisty silverette to do such a thing.

Aidou continues as he starts the engine, "I think it's a good decision, you know," he pauses as he maneuvers the vehicle, "I mean the law is the one thing we haven't really taken into account: with you in the police force, Shiki controlling the media, Takuma handling the politics, and me in the forensics. We haven't really covered the possibility of running into law and having the case brought up to a national level."

Aidou's phone buzzed. Kain grabbed the phone from the dashboard.

 _Dinner. 7pm._

* * *

Kaname clears his throat and the members of the table stop chattering in lieu of listening to the dark-haired man, "We will have some good days, and some bad. Consider this small victory as our redemption for our losses. This is to better days, and to Kain."

Kaname raises his glass, and the others follow suit in a toasting motion.

Aidou drinks from his wine glass quietly before unknowingly placing the glassware down; with its contents still half full the circumference of the concave structure. This didn't go unnoticed as his Shiki quickly shifted his attention to the light-haired man. He taps on the table twice to catch Aidou's attention, and the latter's interest is piqued.

Aidou sends Shiki an inquisitive look, and the latter mouths, "What's wrong?"

Their conversation gets cut when Kain raises his voice, "Are we really going to involve Kiryu in this mess?"

His four companions' gaze shift to him immediately, all dressed down in a serious expression. Kaname, as usual, addresses the question, "only if he proves to be useful for more than one time."

Kain clenches his fist at the answer but knows his place so he doesn't voice out his thoughts. Instead, he holds his mouth as tight as his hands and lets the others break through the silence. He, however, catches the gaze of his cousin who had thoroughly understood the issue and only shook his head in reply.

Takuma sighs, "Since we've already taken this path on the conversation. I don't know if the two of you who were away earlier had heard of this but," Takuma eyes Aidou and Kain, "Sara Shirabuki died a natural death a few hours ago."

As if clockwork, Aidou already knew the question that would precede the announcement, "I didn't follow through with my plan. Whoever had tampered with the victim, if not a real coincidental natural death, may have been someone else who had grudges against her family."

Kaname purses his lips at the answer. Takuma nods at the action and quickly relays a non-verbal message to Shiki, who immediately understands the action.

Shiki clears his throat, "We need to keep this low-profile, but not concealed or else people would be suspicious. A natural death can be believable but only to an extent."

"Won't anyone get suspicious over how little media coverage this issue is getting?"

Shiki shook his head, "The stories around it have already been carefully picked so as to derive interests from the real matter at hand."

Takuma's phone rings and he excuses himself, "I'll be back in a moment."

"Did you get samples from Shirabuki?"

Shiki makes a disgusted face at the insinuation of the inquiry but answers the question, nonetheless, "No. Her body is under the forensics hired by her own family."

Takuma returns to the dinner and tells the others, "I think we may have a problem."

* * *

Zero is at his office reading the testimonies of his new clients. He hears the chimes go off. He looks up and finds a familiar blonde man out of breath. The silverette and the blonde man hold eye contact for a brief moment, confusion apparent in amethyst hues, "Did you forget anything?"

Aidou regulates his breath before speaking in a hurried tone, "We need you. Now. The case isn't over. Sara Shirabuki's family is pressing charges of accessory to the crime. "

* * *

Update may be sooner than you think. Favorite, review, and subscribe for more, I guess. I'll see you guys in the next installment.


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